SEPTEMBER SAYS (SFF 2024)


From the opening scene of the two sisters dressed as the twins from The Shining, you know this is going to be a strange one.

Sisters, September and July are different from the rest of their peers at school, they have a secret language punctuated by whistles and noises and seem to live in another universe from the others and are consequently shunned by their classmates.
Living with their artistic mother who has her own set of quirks, the sisters get by playing games and making their own fun that often entails September making July do odd dares.
September is the more dominant one and is very controlling but also protective of her much shyer younger sister.

Pascale Kann as September Rakhee Thakrar as Sheela and Mia Tharia as July in September Says

Pascale Kann as September Rakhee Thakrar as Sheela and Mia Tharia as July in September Says

There is an atmosphere of danger and dread that weaves its way throughout the film by actress, screenwriter and first time director, Ariane Labed who elicits great performances from her cast, Mia Tharia (July) Pascale Kann (September) and Rakhee Thakrar as their mother, Sheela.

The sense of unease is more than palpable, it is at times visceral. This gothic thriller is not the most pleasant of watches but is interesting nevertheless and evokes a tension and commentary on mental illness and manipulation.

100 Minutes

DAHOMEY (SFF 2024)


26 Royal Treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey, modern day Republic of Benin in North Africa that were stolen by the French during its colonisation of the area are being repatriated from the Musée de Quai Branly in Paris to their homeland, a country that still has French as its main language.

The first half of the film was a tad trying with a scant voice-over of an anathromorphised artefact that is being returned from its colonial thievery from the 1800s and long, lingering shots of the artefacts being moved and transported but the documentary really hits its stride when we see the students from the University of Abomey Calavey in Benin debating, arguing and reasoning about this historical event and the repatriation of the artefacts.


Fantastic points are made on both sides of the issue by the students and this is the heart of the film. What about the rest of the artefacts? Some 7000 were stolen and only 26 are being returned.

French/Senegalese film-maker Mati Diop (Atlanics) directs this strange and sometimes interesting documentary that brings up all sorts of points about colonial theft and national and cultural pride in a country where the historical identity is not taught as much as it should be.

67 Minutes